McGuigan has massive plans for IBF king Frampton in 2015

Barry McGuigan will celebrate the New Year by plotting Carl Frampton’s rise to the top of the Super-bantamweight division in 2015.

Frampton claimed the IBF World title in September by defeating Kiko Martinez in Belfast.

Carl Frampton

The Tigers Bay fighter will defend that IBF belt against Chris Avalos at the Odyssey on February 28 - but Cyclone Promotions CEO McGuigan says huge fights are on the horizon for his fighter.

And McGuigan says WBC king Leo Santa Cruz and WBA title holder Scott Quigg are in the reckoning.

“I believe that 2015 will be a sensational year for Carl Frampton, and I believe that he will beat Avalos and he will beat him in exciting style.

“We will then go on to fight Quigg or Leo Santa Cruz. It’s going to be a magnificent year for him,” McGuigan said.

And American Avalos - who talked the talk at the first press conference - is certainly talking up his chances before their February 28 showdown but McGuigan believes Avalos is talking his way into trouble.

“I don’t think he knows what he is letting himself in for,” added McGuigan.

“He’s about to walk into the most atmospheric arena in the world, when he comes to the cauldron that is the Odyssey Arena.

“It’s going to be something that he has never experienced before.

“Having said that, a ring is a ring and it doesn’t matter where it is, and Carl has to produce the goods, but Carl has been fired up.

“If we needed to get Carl fired up, this guy has certainly done that for us and he is training really well and is already sparring.

“He has been sparring Patrick Hyland, who is a world class operator at featherweight and super featherweight.

“So he is in great condition already and the fight is two months away.

“Carl is a special talent and he will show that on February 28.”

And McGuigan says that tickets for the Odyssey show are flying out.

“The Odyssey has about 8,800 seats and these will go.

“Avalos is a salesman’s dream but it will be a sell-out and Avalos will not have been in an atmosphere like it, “ he added.